WE LOVE BEING IN LOVE
From philosophers and historians, to poets and scientists alike, love has captured our imagination and curiosity for centuries. Many have experienced the rush of falling in love for the first time or the deep feelings of love for our family and friends. But what is love from a biological perspective? No doubt it’s intertwined with the evolutionary survival of our species. After all we come from an unbroken line of organisms reproducing from the very first microbe that split in two, to our ancestors who have all successfully mated since the dawn of time. Sadly, if we fail to have children this perfect streak comes to a halt. But while we are driven to reproduce, we are also driven to make sure our offspring survives.
Though
we often associate love with the heart, the true magic can be seen
inside the brain. It may not be entirely surprising to find out that the
brain of somebody in love looks awfully similar to one on cocaine.
Cocaine acts on the pleasure centres in the brain by lowering the
threshold at which they fire. This means that we feel really good a lot
easier.
We
see the same thing in the brains of those in love, but it’s not just
the cocaine or love that makes us feel good, it’s the fact that anything
we experience will now more easily set off pleasure centres and make us
feel good. Because of this we not only fall in love with the person,
but begin to build a romanticized view of the world around us.
Interestingly, nearby pain and aversion centres begin to fire less, so
we become less bothered by things around us. Simply put we love being in
love.
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| I love her! |
So
what chemicals are at work to make all of this happen? Both during
orgasm or by simply looking at photos of a loved one, there is a surge
of dopamine and norepinephrine from the ventral tegmental area. This not
only triggers sexual arousal and our racing heart, but gives us the
motivation, craving and desire to be with the person more and more.
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| Romantic love |
You
see romantic love is not simply an emotion, it’s a drive from the motor
of the mind. And this motor brings about intense energy, focused
attention and elation. The pleasure centres are part of the brain’s
reward system – the mesolimbic dopamine system. If we stimulate this
region while learning, learning becomes much easier because it’s
pleasurable and perceived as a reward.
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| Learning as a reward |
We
also see a surge in the neuromodulator oxytocin from the nucleus
accumbens, sometimes called the commitment neuromodulator. This is
because in mammals it helps to reinforce bonding or attachment. When
prairie voles are injected with either oxytocin or vasopressin they will
instantly find a mate to pair a bond with. Finally, studies have shown
that people in love have low levels of serotonin which is similar to
people with obsessive compulsive disorder. This is likely the cause of
our obsession and infatuation during early love. Amazingly, these areas
associated with intense romantic love can remain active for decades, and
while there are many other physiological and psychological components
that add to the mix, the truth is, science still knows very little about
exactly why or how it works. Yet, somehow we all seem to know it when
we feel it.
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